---
title: "Gestalt - Project Briefing"
description: "Systems designer owning verb vocabulary, NpcBlueprint spec, skills-outcomes model, consequence mechanics, and behavior primitives for the v0.2 generator pipeline"
type: briefing
status: active
agent: Gestalt
updated: 2026-03-13
---

# Gestalt - Project Briefing
Last updated: 2026-03-13

## Current Project State
The Settled Reach: top-down immersive sim, single-character perspective, asymmetric information core mechanic, Rimworld-style storyteller. 137+ confirmed decisions. Where's the Fun? Workshop complete (2026-03-05) — 24 decisions locked. v0.2 direction: generator-first proof-of-life, tycoon bookmark, all NPCs generated. Engine selected (D-020). Sprint 25 generator spike confirmed as critical path.

## v0.2 Pivot — Key Changes for Your Role
- **Generator-first (D-114):** The proof-of-life is the generator producing legible characters at scale, not a hand-built vertical slice.
- **Tycoon bookmark (D-117):** Zero investigation content for v0.2. Tycoon (small business owner) is the starting state in Van Maanen's Star.
- **All NPCs generated (D-122):** No hand-authored named NPCs. The FRIEND pattern (D-034) survives as a generator template instruction set, not an authoring assignment.
- **Broad verb vocabulary (D-130):** Life verbs, not tycoon-specific — all career types use the same verb set.
- **Consequence model (D-132):** Dual-scale — Rimworld-style sharp events + DF-style slow accumulation simultaneously.
- **Skills affect outcome (D-118):** Mostly Category C (everyone sees same verbs); skill modifies outcome probability.
- **NpcBlueprint struct (Tyre prerequisite for D-119):** Generator output format must encode the 10-axis model (D-024 survives).

## Decisions Relevant to Your Role
- D-005: Core concept — story generator mechanics, emergent narrative from systems
- D-007: Five pillars — mechanical framework
- D-008: Action pillar — hubris wall mechanic
- D-011: Fog of war as pillar 1 infrastructure
- D-015: Camera lock — vision cone as information constraint
- D-017: Perception loadout system — observer queries
- D-018: Three-range sound system — information quality by distance
- D-020: Godot client + Rust/bevy_ecs simulation via subprocess/IPC
- D-024: 10-axis NPC model (survives; applies to all generated NPCs)
- D-025: Social site as systemic unit
- D-026: Timestamp eviction
- D-028: Axis-to-pipeline mapping (dialogue selection)
- D-035: Converged tag taxonomy (6+3)
- D-038: Audio architecture — event-driven system
- D-041: Knowledge Graph Data Model — 4-level confidence hierarchy, contradiction detection
- D-114: v0.2 proof-of-life = generator + graphics
- D-117: Tycoon bookmark, zero investigation content
- D-118: Skills affect outcome (Category C — everyone sees same verbs)
- D-119: Generator spike Sprint 25 — critical path
- D-122: All NPCs generated, no named hand-authored characters
- D-125: Quietly responsive world — gradient of caring by social proximity
- D-129: Traits + behavior first; relationships Sims + Rimworld style
- D-130: Broad life-verb vocabulary (not tycoon-specific)
- D-132: Dual-scale consequence model (sharp events + slow accumulation)

## What Survives From v0.1
- Content pipeline infrastructure: schemas, loader, validator, previewer — all operational
- Tag taxonomy formalized in `content/_schema/` and `content/global/enums/`
- 10-axis NPC model (D-024) — applies to generator output
- Knowledge graph (D-041)
- Verb system (VerbPriorityProfile refactor needed for tycoon verbs)

## Current Priorities
Consult `docs/sprints/` for active sprint briefing.

### v0.2 systems design:
1. **Verb map for tycoon bookmark** — broad life-verb vocabulary design (D-130). Economic, social, mundane verbs. Job = rails to launch from, not a cage.
2. **NpcBlueprint systems spec** — define how the 10-axis model (D-024) maps to generator output format. Co-design with Tyre.
3. **Skills × outcomes design** — Category C interaction model (same verbs, different outcome weights per skill). What does skill actually modify?
4. **Consequence model design** — dual-scale mechanics (D-132): what triggers a sharp event? What accumulates slowly? How does the player read the accumulation?
5. **Composable behavior primitives** — traits + behavior engine design (D-129). Culture + role + context as behavioral primitives.

## Open Questions Assigned to You
- Q-010: Storyteller AI architecture (co-lead with Nigel)
- Q-024: Gossip propagation timing (co-lead with Tyre)
- Q-WTF-036: Behavioral deltas in monologue vs current state only

## Key Documents
- decisions/content.md — D-023 through D-132
- decisions/scope.md — D-114 through D-120
- decisions/architecture.md — D-008 through D-041, D-133 through D-137
- docs/workshops/wheres-the-fun/workshop-outcomes.md — v0.2 pivot summary
- content/_schema/ — YAML schema definitions
- content/global/ — enums, knowledge, pools, templates, triangles